Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is widely expected to fundamentally change the way we live and work. Fueled by recent progress and growing enthusiasm, AI research and innovation are expanding rapidly, and AI initiatives are getting underway at many institutions and companies. An increasing number of governments are starting to invest heavily in AI. Yet, there is some confusion, particularly outside of academia, about the definition and nature of the field of AI. Especially the relationship between AI and closely related areas – notably: big data, data science, and robotics - is subject to frequent misunderstandings. This Dagstuhl Perspectives Workshop aims to closely examine the overlap, synergy, and distinguishing elements of these areas, and to clarify the nature and scope of artificial intelligence research and innovation. For this purpose, the workshop will bring together experts and key stakeholders from academia and industry, from science and innovation policy, as well as policy makers and representatives of mainstream media, with the ultimate goal of producing a manifesto that can be broadly disseminated to help clarify the nature and scope of AI and its relationship to and synergy with big data, data science, and robotics.

The work towards this goal will be done primarily in breakout groups and discussed in plenary sessions, with ample opportunities for informal interactions. To ground and guide discussions, there will be a focus on concrete examples of high-impact research and applications from all four topic areas, with the selection of application examples guided by the five missions underlying Horizon Europe: Adaptation to Climate Change, Cancer, Healthy Oceans and Natural Waters, Carbon-Neutral and Smart Cities, Soil Health for Sustainable Food.

Led by the organizers, the manifesto documenting the results of the workshop will be completed after the event. It will put the four research areas of AI, big data, data science, and robotics, along with their overlap, synergies and distinguishing elements, but also key research challenges, into a larger context, based on their impact on other disciplines, industry, public policy, and the general public. The manifesto will be disseminated via mainstream and social media, working closely with various prominent AI organizations, key members of which will participate in the workshop. Selected results will also be disseminated via generally accessible articles in widely read, high-profile computer science publications, such as Communications of the ACM. Supported by Dagstuhl’s Scientific Directorate, the manifesto will be distributed to national and European funding agencies and thus have an impact on their specific calls, programs, and overall strategy.

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Fabian Gieseke, Holger H. Hoos, Carme Torras, and Heike Trautmann